HAMLET Substance in Breastmilk Kills Cancer Cells

Source: University of Gothenburg
Roger Karlsson is a researcher in the Department of Chemistry, University of Gothenburg

Microscope images that show HAMLET's interaction with biological membranes. Using a red, fluorescent substance that shows the location of HAMLET, the researchers can clearly demonstrate that it binds to the cell membrane of a tumor cell. Photo Credit: University of Gothenburg.

A substance found in breastmilk kills cancer cells, reveal studies carried out by researchers at Lund University and the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Although the special substance, known as HAMLET (Human Alpha-lactalbumin Made Lethal to Tumor cells), was discovered in breastmilk several years ago, only now is it possible to test on humans. Patients with cancer of the bladder who were treated with the substance excreted dead cancer cells in their urine after each treatment, which has given rise to hopes that it can be developed into medication for a cancer care in the future.

HAMLET was discovered by chance when researchers were studying the antibacterial properties of breastmilk. Further studies showed that HAMLET comprises a protein and a fatty acid that are both found naturally in breastmilk. So far it has not been proven that the HAMLET complex is spontaneously formed in human milk. It is speculated that HAMLET forms in the acidic environment of human babies' stomachs. Laboratory experiments have shown that HAMLET kills 40 different types of cancer, and researchers are now going on to study its effect on skin cancer, tumors in the mucous membranes, and brain tumors. Importantly, HAMLET kills only cancerous cells and does not affect healthy cells.

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg are focusing on how HAMLET can be taken up into tumor cells. The researchers, Roger Karlsson, Maja Puchades and Ingela Lanekoff, are attempting to gain an in-depth understanding of how the substance interacts with cell membranes. Their findings were recently published in the prestigious journal, PLoS One.

Amazing! My young daughter has been diagnosed and treated with a brain cancer. She's incredibly well now and i kept breastfeeding her through 2 operations and the therapy. And now at 2 and 9 month she decided by her own to stop. She's happy and really well now!

My girls like their milk fresh (2 dd's, ages 3, and 7mos) so I've been funneling my extra to my mom who just finished chemo and is about to start rad for cancer. This is her 3rd bout in 22 years so only this time am I more aware of the effects of chemo and the amazing gift God has given us with breastmilk. I tell hubby I have a "medicine *chest*" lol

This - is - completely - awesome. Sadly, they will need to do more research to figure out how to make the treatment "patent-able", so that someone can make big money on it, otherwise it will never see the light of day as an actual treatment. (I wish this was not the way it is.) Still, it shows (yet again) how amazing breastmilk is, and that nothing else can effectively replace it!